Katharine Dain, Soprano

Soprano Katharine Dain performs opera, chamber music, orchestral repertoire, and oratorio on international stages. She is also a writer, a curator of unusual programs, and a probing collaborator on artistic projects of many kinds.

Her lockdown disc Regards sur l’Infini with pianist Sam Armstrong, featuring works of Messiaen, Debussy, and others, won the 2021 Edison Klassiek for Best Debut Recording. Since its release, it has been lavishly praised in the press: “fearless … beautifully controlled … exquisite” (Gramophone); “a stunning album … ecstatic pianism, stratospheric outbursts, sultry sighs and pure beauty … breathtaking” (NRC).

Highlights of her 2021-22 season included the premiere of collectively-created production with the Dutch National Opera titled I Have Missed You Forever, a tour of Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor with the Orchestra of the 18th Century under Kenneth Montgomery, a Kaija Saariaho’s Emilie-Suite with the Tapiola Sinfonietta (who subsequently invited her to be their 2022-23 Artist-in-Residence), and Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with both the Rotterdam Philharmonic under Jan-Willem de Vriend and the Nederlands Kamerorkest under Jonathan Cohen.

In recent seasons, Katharine has sung Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Konstanze) and Don Giovanni (Donna Anna) in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Hungary, and Ecuador, concert works and song cycles with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and many others, and chamber music and recitals at festivals throughout Europe.

With Sam Armstrong, piano

W. A. Mozart | Sei du mein Trost, Als Luise die Briefe, Abendempfindung

Claude Debussy | Le jet d’eau, Harmonie du soir 

Francis Poulenc | Métamorphoses 

Debussy | Recueillement, Harmonie du soir

Samuel Barber | Promiscuity, A nun takes the veil, Secrets of the old, Sure on this shining night, Nocturne

Lili Boulanger | Clairières dans le ciel